Enayla
by ImaginaryGoddess
Summary: Daniel is surprised when the SGC's resident recluse contacts him and requests a meeting. Why, after all this time, does she want to see him?
1. Chapter 1

Daniel stared at his computer screen. It wasn't unusual for him to receive an email from Dr Enayla. It also wasn't out of the ordinary for her to be asking for some translation assistance to do with one of her projects. What was unusual was that she wanted to see him. In person.

He assumed it had something to do with the recent discovery by SG-11 of the ruins of an agricultural society on P2X-587. With what seemed to be Celtic roots – no pun intended – it was a fascinating study in how to marry environment with civilisation. It was a system that - from what they could gather so far from the various town records - had flourished until a few hundred years ago when they'd been wiped out by the Goa'uld. Another thing that was fascinating was that despite their conquest of the planet, it appeared that the Goa'uld had not plundered any of its resources.

It was Dr Enayla's task to discover why. If she was able to do that then the slightly wild but still abundant crops that continued to grow for centuries without human attention could be harvested and put to all sorts of good use. Most likely to supply the many peoples that the SGC were assisting for various reasons. However, until it was discovered why the Goa'uld ignored such bounty the food-source was deemed too much of a risk to use.

Daniel imagined that Dr Enayla would also be keen to learn all she could about the agricultural techniques employed by this society. Initial reports indicated that it was likely to be a practically self-sustaining system. If it could be replicated on other planets – particularly Earth – then potentially it could be one step closer to the achievement of one of Dr Enayla's dreams. The end of world hunger.

Daniel remembered the sudden light that had appeared in Dr Enayla's eyes as the quiet, unassuming scientist shyly admitted this to him. Her team at the time – SG-19 – had been off-world with SG-1 looking into making first contact with some sentient plant-life. A desire to make the world a better place was why she'd decided to study agricultural science and biotechnology in the first place. Plus a passive-aggressive kind of environmentalism. Definitely not the type to chain herself to a tree, Daniel thought. She was more the type to get quietly furious and say nothing. Someone who understood all the problems the world faced but with no idea how to make a difference. Until she was recruited by the SGC.

Nowadays, however, there were no more off-world missions for her. No longer assigned to an SG-team, instead she huddled down in a lonely, isolated little corner of an unpopulated level of the Cheyenne Mountain complex. In a suite of rooms which were quarters and lab combined and she saw no-one. She communicated mostly via email – very occasionally by phone – and her work was dropped off and picked up from outside her closed door. She'd been down there for a little over six months now.

Daniel still felt guilty for not doing more to try to help her. However, General Hammond had ordered that everyone heed her request to be left alone. Perhaps he should have tried harder – it wasn't like Daniel to give up so easily. Especially when someone was suffering. Which is why he felt guilty. He tried to tell himself that she needed time and space to heal. That he was only doing as she'd asked of everyone on base. However, he kept on needling himself with the fact that it was entirely possible – even probable – that a part of the reason he had given up was because he had been hurt by the things she'd said the last time he'd seen her.

Not that he could blame her. Not that she had even meant any of it, he expected. She had been lashing out and he'd simply been there. Daniel had been there when almost everyone else couldn't bear to look at her. And as a reward he'd been on the receiving end of her unfortunately rather insightful decimation of his character. Perhaps it had been unfair. Perhaps it wasn't even entirely accurate as such. Enough of it, however, had been right on the mark as far as Daniel was concerned and left him with some self-realisations that he'd rather not have had.

So, since that last time when she'd screamed at him to get the hell out of the infirmary, he'd stayed away. Sure, he answered all her emails and did everything she asked of him – mostly relating to translations and anthropological questions – and he kept telling himself that adding a few extra paragraphs or so each time detailing what he'd been up to and asking how she was doing was enough. Even though deep down he knew it wasn't. He'd even tried to talk the various members of SG-19 – her old team – into doing more but he was met simply with white faces and excuses to suddenly leave.

Daniel tried not to be angry with them. The rest of SG-19 had spent several weeks recovering in the infirmary themselves after that last ill-fated mission and even taken extended leave once they'd been released. Now, they were all back going through the gate at every opportunity, almost looking for trouble, seemingly always trying to forget the person they were leaving behind each time. The person who had saved their lives and in some ways had given up her own in return. Dr Enayla.


	2. Chapter 2

People still talked about what had happened to Dr Enayla and SG-19 – in whispers mostly. How the mild mannered, quiet, unobtrusive, mousey little scientist had become the hero and the price she'd paid for it. Some – made too uncomfortable about how she was a constant reminder of the horrific things that could happen to you off-world – even joked about how she was the phantom of the SGC. That she was down there somewhere playing on her pipe organ, plotting something or other. Daniel viciously shut down that talk whenever he encountered it.

So many SGC personnel – not only the SG teams – had experienced the effects of various alien viruses and all sorts of embarrassing and painful and traumatic transformations that were related to gate travel. Everyone knew it could happen again but no-one wanted to think about what would happen if such effects were irreversible. A few people had even admitted to Daniel that if such effects were irreversible they'd rather have them be fatal as well. Who wanted to spend the rest of their lives as a caveman or out of phase or as a host to a Goa'uld? Who would want to live if they ended up looking like Dr Enayla did now?

It was the mud on that planet that had done it. The mud that had almost claimed the lives of the three marines as it sucked them down. The insidious death-trap that had lain hidden within the peaceful rainforest. Even once they'd been freed from it's clutches, it had left with them a great sickness that nearly claimed each of them several times following their return to Earth.

Dr Enayla had made contact with the mud as well but she did not become ill. She had rescued her trapped team-mates with her quick thinking. Ropes and logs transformed into a makeshift platform upon which she lay and from that vantage point she was able to drag them out one by one until at the very end – just as they were almost all safe – her construction had itself succumbed to the alien mud and disintegrated, dumping her entire body beneath the surface. The team leader had managed to drag their scientist out of the muck by the hair and the four of them somehow made it back to the gate.

Despite not knowing her particularly well, Daniel had gone to see her when he'd heard what happened. Everything he'd been told did nothing to prepare him for the sight of her. He had swallowed down the bile with great effort, determined not to let her see the sudden crawling revulsion he'd felt. She looked like she was still covered in mud. Drenched in it. Her hair was a mess of gluggy dreadlocks. Visions of swamp monsters from movies he'd seen as a child swam into his mind.

The thing that was so sickening wasn't because she was covered in mud but because she wasn't. It was like it was coming from within her. From beneath her skin. Here and there patches of her skin looked shredded and bark-like. Daniel had forced himself to stay there with her and talk to her. Even if his compassion hadn't compelled him, he thought perhaps her eyes would have. Amidst all that muck he could see two grey pools of fear and despair and panic. So he stayed. For Janet too, because he could see the devastation on her face since she'd had to tell Dr Enayla that there was nothing she could do. The changes to her DNA were permanent.

Daniel had visited her a few times before she'd imposed the ban. Since then he felt like he'd failed somehow. Maybe there had been something he should have said that would have made all the difference. But there wasn't. What could you say to make something like that better? She wouldn't even be able to leave the SGC ever again. Never be able to see the places on Earth that she so much wanted to save. Never have any sort of real life. This went beyond disfigurement.

At least she could still work, Daniel told himself. It was something. And over time, gradually her emails to him had become less formal and professional and she'd actually started to respond to some of the things he wrote about. Just general enquiries about how his head was feeling after that last go round with a ribbon device or wondering how Jack was doing after he'd done in his knee again.

Sometimes she asked about things that made him realise that other people must also be feeding her news. Or maybe she was just reading mission reports. It made him feel slightly better to think that even though she was hidden away down there seemingly isolated from everyone she was still aware and included to some degree in what was going on. Even more importantly that she was still interested in what was going on. Not just the things that related to her own projects.

Daniel knew it made Janet feel a little bit better as well. She still struggled with her inability to help Dr Enayla. Daniel knew that Janet continued to work on a solution even when it seemed apparent there was none. She also was no longer allowed to see Dr Enayla but every now and then she managed to persuade the scientist to at least send her a blood sample on occasion as well as keep Janet apprised as to her general health.

Daniel sighed, reading the latest email again. He was happy he'd been asked – not that she'd actually asked for anything specific – but there were actually other linguists who were more fluent in Celtic than him. His talents were spread across the nearly 30 languages he knew – others were more specialised in certain ones. Perhaps he should be suggesting this to her. However, she'd asked him to come so that's what he would do.


	3. Chapter 3

'On my way now.' He typed in reply and sent it before he could change his mind. Grabbing a few Celtic references that might come in handy he set off on the long trek down to her. On the way to the nearest lift, he inundated his mind with memories of what she looked like – to try to desensitise himself so that it wouldn't even be an issue when he got there. Once in the lift, he reminded himself that once you got used to her appearance it wasn't that bad. He needed to think about it almost as her natural form. If she were an alien he wouldn't have a problem with the way she looked. He'd seen worse surely.

All the way through the winding corridors of her floor, he promised himself that he wouldn't screw this up. Knocking on the door, he was suddenly concerned that she hadn't really meant for him to come down here. That she wouldn't want to see him. That he'd done the wrong thing. Then he heard her voice from within.

"Come in, Dr Jackson." She sounded fine. He breathed a sigh of relief. She was expecting him. It was okay.

He opened the door and entered. It was dark within. Not dark exactly as his eyes adjusted. Just dimly lit. He found it familiar and comforting somehow. Like a library when it's late at night and you're too engrossed in what you're reading to realise that the only light left is the lamp illuminating your book.

"You can call me Daniel, you know." He reminded her, searching for her in the shadows but only able to make out her general shape in the corner furthest from where he was standing.

"How are you, Daniel?" She asked, a smile in her voice.

"Not too bad. Interesting find on P2X-587, isn't it?"

"Yes, but that's not why I asked you here." She told him.

"Oh." Daniel blinked a few times. Then he asked gently. "Why are you hiding back there? There's no need."

"I know. I just want to talk to you like this for a while before I come out."

"Okay. Mind if I sit?"

"Go right ahead."

He could vaguely make out her also sitting down. "So, you're doing alright?"

"I am. I wanted to thank you."

"Me? What for?"

"For being pretty much the only person who didn't look at me like I was repulsive. Well, I mean once you got used to it, of course." Once again there was that smile in her voice. "And in the beginning you hid your reaction well so for that too I'm grateful."

Daniel didn't know what to say.

She continued. "I also really wanted to say I'm so sorry for all those things I said to you."

"It was the truth. I can't hold that against you." Daniel shrugged.

"Don't say that!" Her voice rose sharply. "You didn't deserve it – it wasn't true – and I didn't mean any of it."

"Maybe it was a little true." Daniel smiled softly. "Which is why it was hard for me to hear. I do believe that you didn't mean to point out my flaws so bluntly though."

"Compared to your strengths, Daniel, your flaws don't hold much weight." She pointed out firmly. "They're negligible. And I won't put up with any arguments to the contrary because I'm right and anyone who says otherwise is wrong!"

Daniel smiled and held up his hands in surrender. He leaned forward and asked quietly. "Are you really alright, Enayla?" He referred to her by her surname as she preferred. He was struck suddenly by how pretty it was.

"I really am, Daniel… that's sort of why I asked you here. It's just… well… I've kind of been alright for a while now. The first few months I was wallowing in self-pity but for ages now I've been fine. Good even."

"Well… that's good to hear."

"It might sound completely crazy but I reached a point where I've actually started to enjoy being the monster in the basement."

"You're not a…" Daniel started to protest but she cut him off.

"No, no… I know… I just mean… no-one really noticed me before. I barely noticed me. Then suddenly, I just creak my door open slightly when some poor airman is delivering stuff to me and the reaction I get! It's fantastic! I mean, I sort of feel sorry for whomever is running away down the corridor but at the same time I just laugh and laugh because they don't even see me and they're afraid. It sort of makes me feel powerful if that makes sense."

"I suppose it does." Daniel replied cautiously.

"The thing is, my whole life I used to care what people thought of me. Worried that I wasn't pretty enough, wasn't good enough. You know, the usual stuff. Now, I so don't care. Not at all. It's incredibly liberating." She laughed, it was a lovely sound. "And it's my birthday tomorrow!"

"Really? Happy Birthday!"

"It's also Halloween." She laughed again. "Very fitting. The thing is… you know, the party they always have here?"

Daniel did. It was fancy dress and he never went to it. Not that he minded dressing up as such but he did find the amount of young recruits who dressed up as Goa'ulds with voice modulators running around going 'Bow down before your God' to everyone they encountered to be more than creepy. Sam didn't like it either but strangely Jack and Teal'c seemed to find it hilarious. Jack bantered with them or gave them tips to make their performances even more ridiculous. Teal'c delighted the pretend Goa'ulds by barking things like 'Die, false god!' and then shoving them to the ground. Daniel supposed it was something to do with making light of things that you fear but he just preferred not to be around it.

"I was just thinking…" Enayla continued. "… that maybe I might go."

"That'd be good." Daniel replied encouragingly. "What will you dress up as?"

She giggled then and Daniel felt embarrassed that he'd asked. "You'll see if you come with me."

"With you?" Daniel blinked.

"Would that bother you? Going to a party with me?" She asked. Her tone was light and held no defensiveness in it.

"Of course not." He replied and he meant it. "I just didn't expect…"

"I can imagine!" Again she sounded like she was grinning. "You come down here for a chat with the old swamp monster and you get hit on. Rather unexpected."

"See, I didn't realise you were hitting on me." Daniel grinned. "I thought you just wanted an escort to your society debut."

"That too." She snickered. "So, is it a date?"

"Absolutely."

"Excellent." He could see her stand and begin to move forward. "You see, I've come to realise the type of people who count. Not that there is anything wrong with everyone else as such. I just mean that the people who really count… are the type of people who would sit beside someone's hospital bed and pretend that they're not hideous. The type of people who would continue to email someone that had said the most horrible things to them because they understand that those things were only said because that person was in pain. You are pretty special, Daniel Jackson." He could see her smile now as she walked further into the light. "And so – funnily enough – am I."

As she fully emerged from the shadows, Daniel felt the Celtic reference books slide slowly from his grasp. He hadn't even realised he was still holding them and he didn't even try to stop them falling onto the floor. "Holy…" Words escaped him after that and so he just stared at her in utter shock.


	4. Chapter 4

Finally some more! Hope you haven't lost interest...

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"Something else you didn't expect."

"You could say that." Daniel breathed. "When... ? How... ?"

"Like I said before I've been feeling much better psychologically for months now. I'd already decided that it was time to emerge from seclusion. I'd accepted my fate and that there was no reason for me not to get on with living. Then a little over a week ago this happened." She waved her hands at herself. "Well, not overnight obviously. It was progressive over about a month but I've been like this for about a week."

"Does Dr Frasier know?"

"You're the first. I have sent her blood samples and apparently there have been no changes."

"No changes..."

"I know! It's crazy! Obviously I'll have to get her to run more detailed tests now... I just wanted to see you first. Or rather have you see me."

Daniel was seeing her. In fact, he couldn't tear his eyes away. The only problem was finding just one aspect to focus on.

First there was her hair. Where once it had been unremarkable and then a ropey mess of dreadlocks, it was now a lustrous mane of golden-brown waves. Thick and soft looking, spilling around her strong golden-brown shoulders. Her shoulders made him realise that her skin was also soft-looking. Even velvety and it was patterned in a sort of mottled blush of light golds and browns to match the overall golden-brown. Her shoulders led him to the swell of her breasts underneath the SGC issue black singlet top she was wearing and he quickly moved on because it would be rude to stare there. Even if they were very nice. And definitely… fuller… since the last time he'd seen them. Not that he'd looked then either, of course!

Before she'd been a little wisp of a thing but now she seemed strong and willowy and even maybe a bit taller. With curves all over the place that Daniel tried not to think about. His eyes moved to her face. There the mottled pattern danced around her features and became softer, almost silvery in contrast. The pattern whirled around her eyes forming almost an elaborate mask. Her eyes were the most stunning part of all, he decided. They were more silver than grey now and they glowed with confidence and amusement as she watched his reaction to her new self. Literally glowed, he realised. Not just a reflection from the lamps here and there but actually glowed.

"Wow." Was all he could think of to say.

"You like?" She did a slow turn, her arms out – her smile very amused.

"You look… amazing." He smiled, thinking the word didn't quite begin to cover such a transformation.

Daniel watched transfixed as a slow blush crept over her features like a silvery glitter dancing under her skin. A lock of her glorious hair spilled over her shoulder as she ducked her head a little shyly – reminding Daniel of who she used to be. Then he was distracted by wondering which might be softer to the touch – her hair or her skin. He shook himself and coughed, flushing a little.


End file.
